The 23-year-old tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee in Bayern Munich's 1-1 Bundesliga draw against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, and will possibly be out for the remainder of the 2012-13 campaign as he will have to go under the knife.

"Holger's injury is massively disappointing. He's a very important player for us and still very young, and he's only recently returned from a thigh injury," he told the official Bundesliga website.

"I think he's one of the best defenders around."

The influential midfielder then went on to discuss Bayern's Champions League ambitions, and is confident they can go far in the competition this term.

"We reached the final twice in the last three years and hope to go far this season, too," he added.

"And we will be among the contenders as long as we're left to do our job. I know first hand about the huge potential within our team."

Bayern have already secured progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League, and take on BATE Borisov on Wednesday in their last group stage game.